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Had my Studio Display for two weeks now and love it. Don’t know why anyone would complain about it and with the Costco sale it is well worth it and will enjoy it for many years to come. Apple nailed it! Awesome it gets firmware updates to hopefully make it even better.
 
iOS is based on macOS - why would the display need to run the full macOS? It’s just a display, camera, and speakers. iOS is more than capable of handling this. MacOS would be way too much bloat and 95% of it would go unused just taking up storage.

I was thinking more the other direction, why does a monitor need a full SoC and iOS at all.
 
Had my Studio Display for two weeks now and love it. Don’t know why anyone would complain about it and with the Costco sale it is well worth it and will enjoy it for many years to come. Apple nailed it! Awesome it gets firmware updates to hopefully make it even better.

It's a tradition here for many to reflexively complain about Apple and Apple products.
 
It’s weird that you have to update your monitor
Why? Every monitor I’ve ever owned had firmware updates. Have you never checked if yours did? I’ve had many, many brands and all of them have updated firmware at some point. This is normal to me. It’s possible you just never checked.

There are very few monitors that don’t have updates at some point. The only one I can think of right now that can’t is the first version of the Alienware QD-OLED monitor, and it’s thought that the firmware couldn’t be updated manually because of the Nvidia G-Sync module. Dell requires any updates for that monitor to be done by a dealer, but even that monitor HAS updates. You just can’t do it yourself. The newest QD-OLED Alienware has no G-Sync and can therefore be manually updated.

Many people think that multimedia devices don’t need updates, such as DVD players or TV’s or HiFi receivers. But they all can and do. My Yamaha receiver updated regularly, but my older Pioneer could not be manually updated, though there were updates that could be done at the dealer. These days, I only buy devices that can be updated manually.
 
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It’s still hilarious to me that this monitor is part of the iOS family. It makes sense for Apple, I get it. Why use a different SoC and firmware set when you already have one. Just blows my mind that a monitor has a full SoC and runs iOS.
If the rumors are true and that the Studio Display is a failed attempt at building an Apple Silicon 27” iMac Pro, then it makes total sense. From the inner workings, it looks like an iMac, only with the motherboard replaced with a lesser SoC. It’s thought that the “iMac” could run the M1 Max and M1 Ultra, but I suspect they couldn’t cool the Ultra and aborted, hence the Mac Studio was born with humongous fans and heat sink. But the Mac Studio needed a monitor to go with it, so Apple repurposed the “iMac” and turned it into a monitor. Rather than tear out the guts and start over, they did the easy thing: they stuck in a cheaper SoC while leaving the rest the same.

It explains why it has 64GB of storage on it even though it’s only using about 2GB. If it had started life as a monitor, Apple would have customized a motherboard for it, but starting life as an iMac, they had to improvise and get something out the door to match the Mac Studio’s release date. They used an SoC and motherboard that they were already making. Two versions of iPhones were running the same A13 and storage configuration, so they just stole parts from other products. 64GB was the smallest configuration they already had on hand. It also explains why Ross Young kept changing his mind on whether Apple was coming out with a 27” monitor or 27” iMac.
 
They beta firmware now? God, how hard is it to just make a working monitor?
This isn’t the first time they had a Studio Display beta firmware. Remember that the initial fix for the Center Stage camera came out in beta first and needed a beta OS to install it. Then when the final release of macOS came out, the monitor’s firmware was made available to all. The exact same thing will happen here. When Apple releases macOS 13.3, we’ll all be able to update the monitor.
 
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1) Finally pulled the trigger last week & received mine after months of eyeing the forums. Worried but made the purchase - I am extremely content. Such a seamless & clean setup with my MBP.

2) Any concrete ideas on what functionality could realistically be added to this panel given its internals and potential system updates? I’ll assume the camera is tapped out as it stands.
 
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if the Studio Display has a Wi-Fi connection, could it function like a smart TV? Could it install apps like Netflix and Roku? Can it connect a Mac wirelessly?
I have little doubt it could - but they'll obviously never let that happen as it would ruin sales of Apple TV boxes. Plus the display would probably lag at highest res and that wouldn't be the perfect Apple "experience" they always brag about (but fail so often to deliver on)
 
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It’s weird that you have to update your monitor
Apple has been providing firmware updates for display for the last 15 years at least. The Thunderbolt Display and LED Cinema Displays all had updates. iMacs have also had firmware updates that were mainly or in part for the display. Other Macs had needed firmware updates in order to use displays, going back 20 years or so. Perhaps by adding the firmware to the display, that negates the need to put it on the Mac?

 
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Ah, the relatively unimpressive screen that should be an iMac, and costs the same as an iMac should.... when it's mercifully put to bed, it won't be missed by many.
 
I've not updated yet, but I am hoping that they updated the camera's firmware so that it's actually usable in lower lighting conditions. Just let the user decide which mode to use instead of hardcoding it to this awful default view. It is probably the worst camera I've ever seen in any Mac or PC within the last decade. My 2015 iMac had a better camera (and better speakers as well).

I am currently bypassing the built in camera with an external one. The ASD is 2x the thickness of the latest iPhone Pro Max (including camera bumps), so you'd think the camera quality would be as good, or better (seeing as though that all it needs to do is transmit a clear image, no fancy picture taking gizmos or complicated processing needed).
 
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I actually do hope they fix the camera even if it's the second or third time. I just bought two Apple displays and they are very nice but I will be either using my iPhone for a web cam on a tripod stand or I'll buy a web cam to sit on my Apple Display. The built in camera is just not acceptable. I wasn't surprised as I'd heard it was bad but even so it's surprisingly bad. The sound has been trumpeted as good but it's not even close to as good as the iMac 2017 it's replacing. It would be nice if I could play music through both monitors. THAT would be nice.
 
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It would be nice if I could play music through both monitors. THAT would be nice.
You can. In Audio MIDI Setup.app, create a Multi-output device that contains both sets of Display speakers.

What's wrong with the webcam? It's perfectly good for zoom calls, etc.
 
A recent video said the the Studio Display firmware should match the iOS firmware at the time. I think my iPad firmware is something like 16.3.1 if I recall correctly (Feb 18, 2023) but my Studio Display is 15.5 Build 19F80. Any big deal to that discrepancy or is the 16.3.1 not considered a firmware number?
 
that is, a year after the release, display still does not work properly?
BIOS; fimrware updateds are realised years, even 10 years later after the initial hardware release and it is a good thing. Things change, bug are discovered, other incompatibility comes up with new hardware. With new devices firmware updates usually brings optimisations. So yes it is a good thing. It is incredible tech users needs to write post like mine on a tech forum.
 
Dual LG Ergo 32“ monitors. No firmware update. Just works.
How is DPI? Is it retina with true 2,5k work area? Does it have 10Gbps USB-C rear ports? no thanks, enjoy your display (which I like) but Studio display is another thing.
 
I feel like every time there’s a firmware upgrade, Apple takes away a feature or makes something worse.
Did you just make this up, or can you provide a list of updates and a list of what features were removed or broken by each update?

Actually, I have to take this back. You said "I feel like..." not that it actually is true. People don't need evidence to have feelings.
 
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